


Year Two: Progression

by AnnoymousPoet



Series: Amity Trilogy [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-03 08:17:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10963311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnoymousPoet/pseuds/AnnoymousPoet
Summary: Danny Phantom AU story, in which Phantom Planet never existed.One of the key rules in life is that you can never plan for anything. With the GiW, new insights into the nature of ghosts, and the rise of more halfas, Danny Fenton learns that whether he is seen as bad or good, no one can deny the gravity of the role he must play.





	1. Prologue

Prologue

_**September 2, 2008** _

* * *

 

It was too crazy to be true.

Danny wasn't that surprised when we woke up. Whether it was from the stress of starting his sophomore year, or saving Danielle from becoming a pile of sludge two nights ago, he wasn't sure. But for a few minutes, he just sat in bed, chuckling at the absurdity of it all. Nothing in life was that simple. There was no way his parents would accept him that quickly. Masters' Blasters? Sounded like a cheesy video game for kids. Tucker as mayor? Pfft. And of course, there was his guilty pleasure of riding...well, _flying_ into the sunset with Sam. He doubted that would come true any time soon.

Could it happen though? Danny had been asking himself that the entire summer. He wasn't quite sure, but in the past weeks, he felt something he hadn't noticed before. Or maybe...he just hadn't realized before. Was it worth risking his friendship, or pushing away the girl he wanted desperately to keep close? Why did girls have to be this challenging? Where could he get advice? Tuc-no, no way. His dad? Nope, even worse. Jazz? The psychology part might help, but he questioned her ability to keep her mouth shut.

He'd think about it later. Danny grabbed his towel and went for the shower. It was going to be a long day, with or without this on his mind.

* * *

 

It was still dark when Sam left the house.

That was how things had been for most of the summer. Get up early, change quickly, leave a note, and head to school before Mom and Dad woke up. She hadn't gotten a decent sleep since Nocturne, but it was better than the alternative. The night had truly become her friend. It was the only time she felt alive, secure, surrounded by people who didn't care who she was, who accepted her. She could make a difference. It didn't matter what sperm and egg she came from, her family was with Jazz and Tucker and Danny...Danny. That stupid, clueless, immature dork.

That one person she couldn't imagine life without.

Part of her wanted to share what was going on. It wasn't worth it. They didn't need her burden. Danny had enough on his plate. Heck, they would all have a lot on their plates in the next few weeks. No, this was her burden, and hers alone. Besides, they understood having annoying parents. She could handle it.

* * *

 

Tucker straightened his beret.

A whole new year approached, and he liked his chances. Sophomore year meant a wave of new freshmen, fresh faces, new chances to finally prove his skills as a ladies' man. Now that Star was officially off the market, he had to search for other options.

But that would have to wait. His eyes flashed to the box on his dresser. The contents: two flash drive. Inside the first was all the data he had on Danny, ghosts, Vlad, the Ghost Zone, Valerie, and Fenton technology. He doubted even Danny knew how much information it contained. And the less people who knew about it, the better. You never knew who could be watching. The other drive contained his magnum opus.

He spent months working on the program, making sure it stayed safe, testing it whenever he could. Every fiber of his body screamed not to do it. Every step of the plan could go horribly wrong, and he wasn't sure he was ready to do Step One. Fear didn't describe what he felt about what he was going to do.

But there might not be a choice. There was enough to worry about today. He turned away from the box and went upstairs for breakfast.

* * *

 

It was three nights ago when Valerie's world was shattered again.

Vlad Masters was a ghost. The mayor, the man who gave her the power to make things right, who gave her direction in her darkest point in life, was a _ghost_. He wasn't being overshadowed, she had seen him become one with Vlad Plasmius, as if they were two halfs becoming whole.

Almost like Danielle. Never in a million lifetimes could Valerie imagine something...no, someone like Danielle. It didn't make sense: how could someone be both human and ghost at once? Did that mean they were only half alive? Was Vlad a...half-ghost too?

Why would Vlad reach out to her? She knew they had Phantom as a common enemy. The ghost that ruined her life, got Dad fired, forcing her to pick up whatever remains of herself remained. The being that attacked the last mayor. If one thing had been clear, it was that Danny Phantom was a monster. Ghostly scum. But now she wasn't even sure about that.

Danielle trusted him. He had worked to save her. Valerie hadn't forgotten his despair when he thought Danielle was gone for good. Everything he told her about Danielle that night was true, which was more than Vlad could claim. And Danielle was remarkably similar to him, physically at least. What did that mean for-

"Val,"

Valerie blinked. "Huh?"

"We're here,"

Sure enough, they were at Casper High. Valerie gave her best attempt at a smile. "Thanks, Daddy,"

He smiled warmly back. "I know it's the first day of school, but...have a good day,"

She rolled her eyes. "I'll try,"

Dad nodded. "Hey, you free tonight?"

Her heart sank. "Sorry, I couldn't get my shift off,"

The hopeful light in his eyes faded. "That's okay. Maybe sometime later this week?"

"I'll see what I can do," she answered, knowing she probably couldn't make it work. Between working at the Nasty Burger and Dad's late night security guard shifts, it had been hard to just sit and have dinner together. "Love you, Daddy,"

"Love you too, pumpkin," he said, kissing her on the cheek. She took one last glance as he drove off, shrinking into the distance. Before, she was able to place all her anger in fighting ghosts. They were demons who did nothing but hurt people, and she could make them pay. Now, she didn't know what to believe. She didn't know what she had been fighting for.

The harder Val thought about it, the murkier everything felt. She couldn't keep this up: she had to focus on school, getting behind this early because of ghosts wasn't an option. The only way was to get answers, but where could she get them? The Fentons wouldn't know, and they might call her dad. Vlad was obviously out of the picture. Danielle was the most trustworthy, but Valerie had no idea where she was, left alone how to find her. That left...no, no way.

But she had no choice. Valerie hoped she would never, ever have to do this. Unfortunately, the only thing clear was where the key to all this was.

She would have to find Phantom.


	2. Chapter 1: Truth

Chapter 1: Truth

* * *

(7:58 am)

* * *

No sooner had Valerie walked into first hour when the beeping of her phone snapped her from the murk of her thoughts. Of course, she was dragged right back in one second later.

**Vlad: Contact me when you have a moment.**

Valerie froze in the doorway. Did Vlad find out she knew? Did he find Danielle? Did-

OOF!

Aaaaannnd…there went all her books. Her phone clattered away as she stumbled to the floor.

"Watch it! Other people have to get through too, you know!"

"Well, excuse me for-" Valerie stopped mid-sentence. "Star?"

The girl's frown disappeared. "Valerie, hey! Good to see you!"

Valerie grinned. If there was any remnant of her past life left, it was Star Jemison. They had been best friends since third grade, the only person who remained loyal to her when Dad lost his job. She was blunt, intelligent, but still fiercely loyal and caring, all of which Valerie respected immensely.

"So, how was your summer?"

"Busy," Valerie replied. "How was Arizona?" Every summer, Star went to Phoenix for about a month to see her dad.

"Other than the sunburn, it was great!"

They shared experiences and talked about the summer right up until the teacher came in. It wasn't much, but at least it was a trace of normal life. A world that she knew was forever beyond her reach.

* * *

 (1:06 pm)

* * *

 "WHO CHANGED THE MEN-"

The Lunch Lady didn't get to finish. Danny capped his thermos and waved to the cafeteria. "It's good. Go back to your…uhhh…lunch, I think? I know it's the first day of school, but hang in there!" He turned intangible and flew through the window. About two minutes later, he was back in human form sitting with the group.

"Not worth the wise crack?" Jazz asked as Danny took a seat.

"It's the first day, I didn't want to make too big of a mess," he said with a shrug. "Besides, the so-called-cooks seemed to done that just fine,"

"How is this a pizza?!" Tucker hollered.

Sam was getting some suspicious glances, which she returned with a scowl. "It's not me this time!" Seriously, change the menu once, and you get blamed for everything.

"At least they're trying to be healthy," Jazz offered.

"Yeah, because nothing reads healthy like pizza," Sam quipped. Every passing second made her more relieved that she brought lunch from home. The "veggie pita pizza" was one of the most disgusting things she'd ever seen. It was a lukewarm slice of pita bread topped with a layer of cottage cheese, something that was probably green a month ago, and brown broccoli.

"This is not a pizza!" Tucker cried. "This is..."

"Vile?" Danny offered. "Revolting? Pathetic? Nasty?"

"All of the above!" Tucker finished. "This is a crime against food!"

"Aren't you overreacting just a little?" Jazz tried.

"No," Danny and Tucker said unanimously. Jazz sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I hate it too. So, how's the first day going so far?"

"Let's see...three rejections so far, but hey, I got a girl's number!" Tucker said, shrugging off the failures.

"You've tried asking out four girls already?" Sam said indignantly.

"Well...six. The other two ran away without a word," Tucker admitted.

"You got a number? Let me see," Danny asked.

"Read and weep," Tucker replied smugly, pulling out a sheet of paper. Danny took a quick glance. "Uhh...Tuck? Did you get this number around...end of 2nd period?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"This is literally the time and date you asked her," Danny answered.

The techno-geek's face dropped. "Huh?"

"095-209-0208. 9:52 am, September 2, 2008,"

"Hey, you found a girl who'll give you the time of day," Sam joked. "First day of school and you've already made progress,"

"Shut up," Tucker whimpered, turning red as his beret.

"Cheer up, man. You'll find the girl out there for you someday," Danny comforted. Judging by his tone, he was trying to convince himself more than Tucker. "Other than the Queen of Mystery Meat, nothing worth mentioning."

"Meh," Sam replied. Jazz seemed disappointed in their responses.

"Well, what time should we start ghost patrol tonight? Seven work for everybody?"

"Sounds like a plan," Tucker agreed.

"Sure," Jazz said. "Danny, have you told them yet?"

"Told us what?" Sam asked.

"There's your answer," Danny said, his face darkening. "The Froot Loop's having a press conference next week. Dad said something about a big announcement."

The non-Fentons at the table tensed noticeably.

"Did he say anything else?" said Sam.

"No, but he seemed pretty excited. I wouldn't have thought much about it if Mom didn't seem so enthusiastic about it too,"

"It has to be something about ghosts," Tucker guessed. "What else could get your both of your parents thrilled that easily?"

"That's what we're thinking," Jazz noted. "Unfortunately, that's all we have for the moment. It could be anything,"

"Anything as long as it's horrible," Sam said gravely. "It's not like he's done a lot of good for Amity Park."

"I don't everyone would say that," Jazz argued. "He's expanding and redesigning the urban area, the population has grown by about 20% since he got elected, and he's expanded business and job opportunities."

"Are you seriously defending my nemesis?" Danny said incredulously.

"I'm giving credit where it's due and acknowledging another perspective!" Jazz said, raising her hands in protest. Sam clenched her fork tighter. She sounded exactly like Mom and Dad, arguing about how good it was that Vlad had become the new mayor. If only she could tell them about what he was really was…

"Well, in terms of ghosts, we all remember the last time he tried something," Tucker pointed out.

"Yeah. Not only was there Vortex, but a tempest of emotions," Jazz replied. Danny shook in head in disbelief at the bad pun.

"Either way, we have to prepare ourselves for whatever's coming," he concluded. "Whether it be ghost, or something else,"

* * *

 (3:19 pm)

* * *

 No turning back now.

Valerie exhaled and pressed call.

It was a few seconds before he picked up. _"Hello?"_

Act calm, like nothing's happened. "Sorry it took so long to get to you, Vlad,"

_"Oh, Valerie! My apologies if I contacted you at a bad time,"_

"No, no, no, it's fine." she replied. He sounded like the Vlad she knew…or rather, the Vlad she thought she knew. Hopefully he didn't sense anything. "I hope you're doing okay after what happened Saturday night,"

"Well, still a bit rattled, but I'm feeling better," he answered. "Thank you again for saving me,"

"Anywhere, anytime," Valerie lied through her teeth. "As long as it's not during the school day,"

He chuckled on the other end. _"Of course not. To be honest, my memories of what happened are still foggy…come to think about it, I can't remember most of Saturday."_

So that was the reason he called. Trying to cover what happened in case she was suspicious. All she had to do was play along. "Maybe you were possessed by that ghost?"

_"Overshadowed is the term, but yes, I highly suspect it. I was in my office, and the next thing I remember was waking in that cell with the girl tied on that gurney. I feared for my life, how did you know to find me?"_

He's testing Val, think. "Well…the girl ghost looked so much like Phantom…maybe she's his sister or something?"

_"Potentially. They did look quite similar,"_

"I figured that Phantom might go looking for her, so I kept an eye out for him. Turns out, he found me. I got him pinned, but he said that you were in danger…normally I wouldn't trust a thing he says, no, but I realized if you actually were in trouble…I couldn't risk not at least checking to make sure."

_"Well, thank goodness you did,"_ Vlad answered after a brief pause. Valerie noticed a tinge of irritation. _"I'm surprised that you saved the girl, though,"_

"Phantom's the reason I knew you were in trouble. I owed him at least that much, but we're even now. The next time we meet, he's going down,"

_"I see. Just a word of caution, Ms. Gray: while you may take the high road, ghosts will most likely not."_

"I know, but I like to think I'm better than my enemy,"

_"Very well. Are you free tonight?"_

What did he need for tonight? "Uhhh...I'm working until 9. Does it need to be tonight?"

There was a brief silence. _"If you could handle it tomorrow, then no. It's nothing important, just something I wanted checked."_

"I'm free tomorrow night,"

_"Oh, then that works perfectly! Thank you again, Valerie,"_

"No problem, sir," she replied. What was he up to now? She would have to worry about it later. She had a job to do. Literally.

* * *

(6:58 pm)

* * *

 No sooner had Jazz parked the car when Danny heard screams. Instinctively, he opened the door and listened.

"What are-"

"SHH!" Danny hissed. "I need to hear," The noise was almost a buzz, like a bee flying around his ear. A human wouldn't be able to pick up, but hey, that's what ghost powers were for. He concentrated harder until more of the sound came into focus.

_"Where is the ghost child?_  
_I challenge you to a duel,_  
_A test of your worth!"_

There was the unmistakable whizzing noise of an ecto-blast.

"Yeah, I heard it too. Any idea who it is?" Jazz asked her brother, who shook his head.

"I don't recognize his voice. But if he wanted to make an order, he could have at least used the drive-thru. I'll radio you guys once I figure out his location." Looking around for a spot free from curious eyes, he jumped back into the car. "Going Ghost!" Phasing through the roof, he flew in the direction of the noise.

_"Come out and fight, boy!_  
_Or do you not care for them,_  
_Your city and people!"_

Two blocks later, the ghost came into view. It was about seven feet tall and encased in what looked like black samurai armor. Purple eyes stared through the opening in his helmet. A gleaming white sword lay in his left hand, currently being used to turn cars into sushi. Danny could see a crowd running desperately away, but more than one civilian was pinned down by the growing piles of rubble. First priority was getting everybody to safety. As he reached for his earbuds, a familiar voice interrupted him.

"What have you done now?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Why does it always have to be my fault when something goes wrong?"

"You tell me!" Valerie growled, adjusting her hoverboard so the two were at the same height.

"I don't have time for this-"

"That makes two of us, Phantom! I've got less than 15 minutes before I have to go back to work because you-"

"Shut up and listen!" Danny snapped. "There's another ghost turning Amity into Hiroshima! Get the civilians out of there so I can deal with him!" Not waiting for a response, he flew towards the scene.

"Hey! Samurai Slice and Dice!" he yelled as he shot an ecto-blast at it. The ghost deflected it without even turning its head.

_"You finally come,_  
_And not a second too late,_  
_Pariah slayer."_

"Leave the humans out of this!" Danny growled. "You're fighting me, and no one else!" The ghost turned to face him.

_"And to you, the same._  
_No mortal friends or ghost_  
_Can save you now, boy."_

He raised one hand, and a ghostly shield surrounded the two of them. It was just a city block and them.

_"All that I request_  
_Is to test your strength myself,_  
_Nothing more or less."_

Danny paused. "You just want to fight me?"

The ghost merely nodded.

"So if I beat you, will you leave?"

The ghost nodded again.

_"Are you ready then,_  
_To fight the great Sengoku,_  
_To the bitter end?"_

"You'll be saying sayonara soon enough," Danny said, launching a blast at the ghost. Sengoku cast it away with his blade and charged.

Danny barely dodged a slash, and he flew away to get some more time. Blast after blast he fired at the ghost, only for it to be deflected. "Okay, that's not working...how about this?"

He felt his body temperature drop as he sent out an ice blast, which Sengoku dodged. The second blast was more successful, freezing the samurai ghost up to his elbow. Unfortunately, one roar of fury later, the ghost had busted his hand out again. This time, he grabbed the longbow from his back and launched a series of yellow blasts. Danny managed to avoid all but one, which landed in his shoulder with all the sensation of a real arrow. Gritting his teeth from the pain, Danny decided to change game plans. Hopefully he could actually pull this one off.

Ducking behind a building, he scrunched up his eyes and mustered all the energy he had into making a duplicate. When he opened them, he could see a duplicate back at him. The clone went for the frontal assault, and Danny turned invisible to get behind the enemy.

Controlling a clone at once was harder than he wanted. It was like trying to watch two different tv screens at once. "Well, I know I won't be a security guard," Danny noted before flying behind Sengoku. His duplicate was doing its best to keep the ghost busy, but it was still working at half-strength.

_"Unsastifying!_  
_I expected far more, boy!_  
_What an utter-"_

Danny shot a ghost ray, this time hitting Fruity Ninja in the back of his head. Sengoku turned around. _"-shame."_ He charged forward again, but this time Danny was ready: he let out a Ghostly Wail, sending the samurai flying back into its own ghost shield. As it tumbled to the ground, Danny hit it with another blast for good measure.

"We had a deal! Now, the hell out of Amity Park!"

Sengoku's eyes narrowed before a chuckle leaked from his helmet.

_Very well, Phantom,_  
_I will withdraw from your home,_  
_Until our next duel._

The ghost shield faded away. Sengoku sheathed its blade before letting out a noise between a shriek and a whistle. An echoing neigh came from the sky as a horse of mist came down, stopping to the left of the samurai. The ghost mounted his steed before disappearing into the night. Danny immediately turned to the crowd.

"Is everyone okay?"

"They're safe," Valerie said, flying back into Danny's range of view. "A couple of injuries, but nothing severe."

He sighed in relief. "Thank you,"

"You want to thank me? I need answers," she answered sharply. "You said you would give me information in exchange for helping save Dani. Fill your end of the bargain.

So that's what this was about. "Didn't you let me go?"

"I agreed not to keep you captive. I still need information, and I have some new questions."

"Like?"

"How did Dani become half-ghost?"

Danny's blood ran cold. If he told her, he'd have to tell her who he was, and about Vlad. Unfortunately, Valerie was far more inclined to believe Vlad than him. Then again, when was Valerie ever inclined to believe him?

"You wouldn't believe me,"

He had to dodge a shot from Valerie. "Quit dodging the question, you ectoplasmic scum,"

"Every time you're told something you don't agree with, you deny it. I know enough to know that you wouldn't accept it if your father told you, let alone me. I'm not wasting my breath talking to deaf ears,"

Valerie gave a venomous glare that was interrupted by a beeping. "I have to get back to work. This isn't over,"

She started to fly away, and a thought came to Danny. "Wait!"

She turned around, and for a moment Danny could see a glimpse of her true emotional state: tired, confused, frustrated, scared.

"I'll give you the truth once you prove you can accept it, but not a moment before."

And with that, he flew off into the night.

* * *

(9:02 pm)

* * *

Somehow, Valerie managed to finish the last two hours of her shift.

_I'll give you the truth once you prove you can accept it, but not a moment before._

It filled her with rage, but she knew Phantom was right. She knew she was stubborn, and she had never trusted Phantom. She still didn't trust him now, but right now he was the most reliable option to get the truth about Dani and Vlad. Her chance to get the truth had slipped through her fingers.

"Val!"

Dad? What was he...Valerie turned around to see him sitting in one of the booths.

"Hey, sweetheart. How was your night?"

She smiled. "It was alright. A bit busy,"

"I would expect so." he replied. "I heard about the ghost,"

Her heart sank. "Dad, I'm sorry. It was during my break, and I couldn't-"

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked. At first, she thought she had misheard him. "What?"

"You helped people who were hurt and in trouble." he said. "Now let's go get a bite to eat. I want to have dinner with my daughter,"

Valerie smiled, and unfortunately sniffled a bit. "Thanks, Dad,"

Fifteen minutes later, they were back in the booth with two burger combos, a jumbo sized French fry bucket, and two diet sodas. It wasn't the ideal family dinner, but it would work.

"Hey, Dad? Can I ask you something?"

He looked up from his bacon cheeseburger. "What is it?"

"It's just...how do I say this? The past few days, I've been thinking and now everything I thought I knew has gone down the drain. I don't know what to do, I can't get it out of my mind, and I have no idea how to get answers,"

He thought for a second. "Everybody has that happen to them at least once in their life."

"Really?"

"It happened to me. Once when I got laid off, and when...when your mother left. I remember feeling so...so frustrated and confused and alone, and in some of the darkest spots in my life. But I remembered that I couldn't wallow in despair. I had you to take care of, and that came first. So I stopped thinking and just focused on the next step. I guess my advice to you would be...don't focus on what you can't change and don't know. Focus on what you can do now, keep an eye out for the small things, and the answer will come to you. Does that help?"

"Thanks, Dad,"

He smiled. "Valerie, I know this past year has been hard on the both of us. But I've seen you grow so much in these last few months, and I couldn't be more proud than I am,"

Valerie wiped a tear from her eye. "Thanks, Daddy,"

There was so much that she was still lost with, and so much she still had to do. But right now, she needed to focus on being there for her dad. She wouldn't stop hunting ghosts. But one day soon, she would get the truth from Phantom. One way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you guys enjoyed this.
> 
> The pizza in the first bit was a callback to the time they tried something like that at my middle school. If you think you've had bad cafeteria food, you haven't tried that...thing, it was seriously awful.
> 
> Here's to my first original ghost! For those of you wondering, Sengoku is speaking in haiku.


	3. Chapter 2: Catalyst

Chapter 2: Catalyst

* * *

**_September 3, 2008:_** 4:26 pm

* * *

_"I have reports abnormally high ecto-signatures in an old mattress factory in the industrial district. They've dissipated significantly, but is still worth investigating."_

Valerie entered the mattress warehouse. It would have looked completely normal were it not for the giant...machine in the center of the room.

"Holy shit," she whispered. It was...well, she wasn't quite sure. It was definitely damaged: what looked like an antennae had been snapped off by the top, and there were blast marks marking the device. The center of it was a massive cyan sphere that looked like a capsule for something...or someone.

"I'm there. Sending visuals now:" she said, pressing a button on her helmet.

"Who's there?"

Valerie froze in horror. Looks like she wasn't the first one there. Quickly, she activated the invisibility feature on her suit and ducked into the shadows.

"Do you think it's a ghost?"

"Activating EL-13,"

_"Valerie, what's wrong?"_

"There's someone else here," she whispered. "And they don't sound friendly."

_"Ghosts?"_

"Humans, I think. The device in the room's giving too much interference to be sure,"

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. _"Very well. If they're humans, it would be unwise to engage. Fall back for now, the visuals should be enough momentarily."_

She didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

  _ **September 10, 2008:**_ (10:42 pm, 19 hours and 18 minutes before Press Conference)

* * *

_"Phantom Gear Version 1.0, Test Four-"_

"Okay, Is this really necessary?" Sam asked.

"Of course it is! This is history in the making, people!" Tucker exclaimed, putting down the video camera. "Come on guys, you're ruining the tape!"

"You're making it sound like Iron Man or something, dude," Danny pointed out.

Last Tuesday, Danny had sworn off white shirts after the wound he got from that samurai ghost (which Tucker was devastated to miss) took longer to heal than normal: Jazz nearly had a heart attack when she saw how much blood had gotten onto the backseat. Tucker suggested giving Danny some upgrades to limit these instances in the future, which all four agreed on. Unfortunately, the only materials they could get were scraps from the lab to make sure Jack and Maddie didn't get suspicious. The end result was the bare minimum: a pair of shoulder pads and a belt. Still, Tucker was proud of his work. At the moment, they were testing it out on a decent-sized asteroid in the Ghost Zone, surrounded by a Ghost Shield to block interference.

"Give me a break, I'm fourteen," Tucker replied. "Okay, here we go: _Phantom Gear Version 1.0, Test Four. Take it away, Danny,_ "

Danny rolled his eyes, but put on the gear.

"How's it feeling, dude?"

"Comfortable," he replied.

"Let's start by turning back into human form,"

Danny nodded, and the pair of white rings appeared at his waist. As they moved to the other ends of his body, the baggy jeans and red T-shirt became visible. One second later, and Danny Fenton stood in front of the camera...with no shoulder pads or belt visible.

"Okay, now turn back,"

"Going ghost," Danny Phantom reappeared, this time with the gear on his body.

"Yes!" Tucker cheered. "Success!"

"Not bad, Tuck," Jazz replied.

"Moving on: testing effectiveness. Ready Sam?"

"Just say the word,"

"Fire!"

Sam activated the Fenton blaster, hitting Danny's left shoulder pad. Danny recoiled slightly from the shot, but the armor held up. "Did that hurt?"

"Not really." Danny replied. Tucker was more concerned about the damage on the armor: another two or three shots at that magnitude, it'd be completely wrecked. "That's good for now, nice work Danny. Throw the gear over,"

"Can I at least keep the belt?" Danny asked. "I finally have something to put the thermos on,"

"Eh, sure, why not?" Tucker grabbed the pads and loaded them into the Specter Speeder. "Now let's head back home."

"Shouldn't we discuss our game plan for tomorrow?" Jazz asked. "You know what's happening,"

"If we did, we wouldn't need a game plan," Sam countered. "All we can do is wait, but at least some of us have to be there so we can keep up,"

"Well, I'm not going. Vlad's not making me miss ghost patrol," Danny said firmly.

Jazz quickly opened her mouth to protest. "Danny-"

"I'll go with Jazz tomorrow night," Tucker interrupted, prompting the other three to stare. "If there's any big ghost attack while the rally is going on, Danny's the best chance we have to handle it. My government teacher's making me do this for a project anyways. Jazz, I need to keep an eye on your parents. Your dad found out two days before Vlad announced it, which means-"

"-that he might be planning something around them," Jazz finished. "But what about Sam?"

"I'm not going," the goth answered immediately. "Someone's gotta watch out for this idiot,"

"Sure, that's the reason," Tucker whispered to Jazz, who stifled a grin. Fortunately, Sam didn't overhear the little jab, but Danny blinked in confusion. He eventually shrugged it off. "Alright, it's decided. You two, let me and Sam know the moment you hear something worth noticing."

"Sam and I," Jazz corrected.

"That better not be your standard for tomorrow night," Sam joked.

* * *

  _ **September 11, 2008:**_ (11:51 am. 6 hours and 9 minutes before Press Conference)

* * *

 "I can't believe I got stuck doing the project with Foley,"

"Did you ask about switching partners?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah, didn't work," Star grumbled. "That senile hag thinks that we're the best fit together..."

"Don't let Kwan hear that," Valerie said, traces of a smile on her face.

"I don't know...maybe he could make the Techno-freak leave me alone,"

"Fat chance. It's Tucker Foley we're talking about," Valerie pointed out. "Besides, you don't want to be stuck doing the project alone while the kid's in a coma."

"Good point," Star replied, not feeling that reassured. This was going to be a long night: she would have to go to the rally with Foley (which he would label a date), and have to try and take as many notes as she could while enduring his relentless (not to mention creepy) flirting, and spend another week being stuck with him working on a boring project for a class she didn't want to take. Val must have sensed her frustration.

"Hey, you never know. Remember when I got stuck with Danny doing that flour baby project?" Valerie asked.

"What I mainly remember is the F I got from trusting Foley with mine, but go on,"

"It was the first time I realized that he wasn't that bad of a guy. It wasn't...you know, where I started to think I like him, but once we put our differences aside for a bit, we managed to at least stand each other."

"What happened between you and Danny anyway?" Star had never cared much for Fenton...it was indifference more than disdain. But she didn't forget how much...happier? No, lighter Valerie seemed while the two were dating.

Val's face darkened. "I...couldn't handle the commitment."

"Sorry," Star apologized, knowing she shouldn't have asked.

"It's fine. But hey, who knows? Maybe you'll find out he's not such a bad guy after all,"

"Fat chance. It's Tucker Foley we're talking about,"

* * *

 (5:35 pm. 25 minutes before Press Conference)

* * *

"I thought you of all people would be happy to partnered with Star. Isn't she the girl of your dreams?"

Sam nearly choked stopping herself from snickering. Tucker groaned in response, while Jazz just seemed confused. "What's so-"

"Nothing," Tucker lied. "Are you still mad about that, Danny?"

"As long as I don't have to do windows, not really," Danny answered, flashing an adorable smirk...

_Stop it,_ Sam told herself.

"You don't need a partner to go to a rally," Tucker grumbled. "Especially not when you're trying to provide updates instead of being an A-Lister's book bag,"

"That's what I'm here for," Jazz replied. "Does Star need a ride? I'm sure Mom and Dad wouldn't mind taking her,"

"Not gonna happen. She'll probably think I'm trying to make a move on her," Tucker sighed. "The last thing I need is her boyfriend beating me into a pulp."

"You kids ready to go?" Jack called.

"Just a sec, Dad!" Jazz replied. "Take care tonight, you two,"

"Have fun," Tucker said teasingly. Sam's death glare had the opposite effect as to what she was hoping: his cheeky grin only grew wider.

* * *

(5:57 pm, 3 minutes before Press Conference)

* * *

"Star,"

She turned to see (much to her displeasure), her project partner.

"Foley," she replied coldly. As Foley opened his mouth, Star prepped herself for the onslaught of flirting. Much to her surprise, it didn't come.

"I know you're dating Kwan, so don't expect me to be your lackey," he said, almost aggressively. She wasn't sure if she liked it more...not that it was saying much. It took her a second to regain her composure.

"As long as you carry your end of the bargain," she countered, but he was no longer paying attention: instead, he was fishing something out of his backpack. "What are you doing?"

"Recording this. Danny wanted to see it, and it'll make things a lot easier to double-check," he answered, pulling out another gadget.

"Why didn't he just come himself? I saw his crazy-ass parents a few minutes ago,"

"You can't be a genius without being a little crazy," Foley replied. "Danny had...other commitments tonight,"

Manson wasn't there either, so Star wondered..."Is he out with his freak girlfriend?"

"Sam's not his girlfriend."

"Wait, really?"

"Unfortunately. I swear, they are the only two people in Casper High who don't see it,"

"More like the only two in Amity Park," Star added.

"Yeah, no kidding. At this rate, I'll get a girlfriend before they figure it out,"

"I wouldn't bet on that," said Star, causing Foley to look like he'd been slapped.

"I'm surprised you and Sam aren't best friends. You're so much alike it's scary,"

"And what's that supposed to mean?!"

He looked a bit flustered. "Uh...that you're both...really sarcastic?"

Star shrugged. "That's fair," She didn't dare let him know the real reason she reacted. She wasn't offended: she was afraid that he was right. The Star that everyone else saw was a carefully constructed façade, made from countless hours of observation and practice. Everyone looked at her and saw her as a typical A-Lister, not someone who was working her ass off in school and hoping to get into Harvard. Every moment in the public was laced with fear of being exposed as the person she truly was. That maybe she was one of the weirdos, the losers, the untouchables. Everything she worked so hard to get: her popularity, her friends, Kwan, would be ripped away in an instant. She would never give up her friendship with Valerie: they had known each other far too long for that. But she was terrified of what would happen if Paulina found out.

She was getting too chatty with Foley. With a haughty turn of the head, she looked towards the front. "Let's just get over with, geek,"

"Whatever,"

The applause began as Mayor Masters took the stage.

* * *

Danny waited until the van was safely out of the block.

"Shall we?" he said, turning to Sam.

"I'm ready when you are," Sam replied.

He grinned. "Awesome. I'll meet you in the garage,"

Within two minutes, the two were on their scooters and riding down the streets. Traffic was already piling up, so Sam suggested heading towards the shipping yard, where people would be more likely to move away from rather than towards.

All things considered, it was a good night. There weren't too many clouds, perfect 65 degrees, and the thought of homework was nowhere in sight.

They kept on driving for awhile, not spotting anything. The traffic had finally died down, which meant that the rally would be starting soon. Sam messaged Danny through the bluetooth in the helmet.

_"Hey, wanna get something to eat?"_

"Where to?"

_"I know a good whole in the hall nearby."_

Danny shrugged. "You got cash?"

_"You have to ask?"_

"Alright, lead the way,"

Sam drove him down to the south side, nearby the parking lot used for the swap meet. Eventually, they stopped next to a building about the size of his room.

The aroma of what smelt like Indian food hit Danny when he walked into the door. There were only ten seats in the whole restaurant.

"Sam, how nice to see you!" an older woman with a thick accent appeared from behind the counter at the end of the building. "Oh, and who is this?"

"Hello, Fatima," Sam said warmly. "This is my friend, Danny."

Fatima smiled at Danny. "Any friend of Sam is a friend of mine,"

"Hi," said Danny, waving his hand. "You two know each other?"

"Yeah. I come here at least...twice a month? My grandma taught me that some of the best things you'll ever eat come from small restaurants like these." Sam said with a grin. "The usual, please,"

"Absolutely. You two take a seat,"

Sam took a spot at the table closest to the kitchen, prompting Danny to follow.

"I can pay you back for this, later, I'm sorry I don't-"

"It's fine, Danny. Besides, it's best we enjoy this while we can,"

"Huh?"

Sam's face darkened. "This area of town's being redeveloped pretty soon. Part of Vlad's reconstruction 'progress'. Fatima thinks she'll be here three months at best before she gets evicted,"

"That sucks," Danny said. "But then again, that's Vlad for you. It's not just power, it's the image of power, and wealth. Even when there's nothing of true substance underneath."

"I agree,"

"What's gonna happen after that?"

"She'll be okay," Sam said. "Her son's helping her move in to his home in Chicago."

"Well, that's good...I guess,"

"Yeah," Sam said. "It's nice to see someone who can rely on their family,"

That last line was rimmed with bitterness, and Danny had a pretty solid guess as to who Sam was referring to.

"Are your parents giving you trouble again?"

"It's personal," she said, giving him a look that clearly said _drop it_.

"Order ready!"

Sam smiled. "Thank you," she got up to get the food.

* * *

"So, this is Danny," Fatima whispered.

"Quiet," Sam mumbled.

"What about all you said to me?" the woman said, a playful grin on her face.

"Please..."

"Don't be afraid, Sam. He's a good one, I can tell," Fatima said, handing Sam two orders of samosas and cilantro chutney.

"You sound like my grandmother,"

"Then your grandmother must be a very wise woman," the woman replied. Sam sighed and brought the food to her table.

"What were you two talking about?" he asked obliviously. His ghost powers seemed so inconsistent it made no sense.

"Nothing,"

He didn't question her. "So...these are..."

"Authentic Indian samosas," she replied. "Not exactly a bacon cheeseburger. Think you can handle it?"

"I'm not Tucker, Sam," said Danny. "I'll try it,"

She waited for him to try his samosa before biting into hers, letting the pleasant aromatics fill her senses.

"You weren't kidding," Danny said. "That's awesome,"

Sam grinned. "Glad to hear,"

Danny reached for a second one just as a stream of blue mist came from his mouth. "Maybe if we eat out more often, we'll run into more,"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Sam admitted. "We have to go, Fatima. Thanks for the food, though!"

"My pleasure,"

Danny walked to the exit, bolting as soon as the door closed. Sam fished out a couple of bills from her wallet and set them on the table.

As she left the restaurant, she saw Danny flying down the road. She quickly attached her wrist blaster and went off after him.

"I'll show you what my super-hip powers can do!"

"Making bad puns is my job!" Danny called. _Yep, definitely Technus_. "You need to chill out!"

A blast of cold blue light clashed against the sunset in the sky. Technus flew into view.

"You've gotten better, ghost child!"

"Wish I could say the same about your hairstyle," Sam mumbled. Danny flew towards the ghost, dodging a blast and taking aim. But suddenly, Danny stopped halfway through, shuttering naturally. Technus took the opportunity to fire, hitting Danny directly in the chest, sending him spiraling into the street.

* * *

_"Okay, I showed you the portal, can we get out of here now? My parents could be back any minute. Besides, they say it doesn't work anyway,"_

_"Come on, Danny. A Ghost Zone? Aren't you curious? You gotta check it out."_

_"You know what? You're right. Who knows what kind of awesome, super-cool things exist on the other side of that Portal?"_

_Deep down, Danny had absolutely no faith that it would work. But there was even a fraction of a chance...Mom and Dad had been saying it would be their first big break: they had given up ghost hunting after he and Jazz were born so they could make a living to support the family, and now that Danny was entering high school, they finally felt ready to try. He remembered how disappointed they had been when it hadn't worked. If there was any chance they were actually right..._

_He pulled on the jumpsuit and started to walk in._

_"Hang on..." Sam said, grabbing something on his chest and ripping it off. Danny looked and realized that it was his dad's face. "You can't go walking around with that on her chest,"_

_She was right. Danny walked into the machine...after a few steps, he couldn't see a thing. He put his hands against the wall to steady himself._

Click.

_Danny heard a whirring noise, like an engine turning up. He barely had time to registered Tucker and Sam's alarmed screams before his vision was flooded with green and he felt his body being ripped apart._

* * *

"DANNY!"

It took Sam a second to make her legs work again. Unfortunately, it was a second too late: as soon as she started running toward Danny, a blast missed her by a millimeter.

"Haha! Now to take candy from a baby, as the hipsters say today!"

"He seriously talks like an old man," Sam grumbled, dodging another shot. She had dealt with Technus before, but she really wished Tucker was here to help, especially since Danny was lying in a smoking heap fifty feet away. First priority: keeping Danny safe. There was no time to grab him, so she did the next best thing: run away from him, keep him safe from Technus's blasts.

"Hold still!" Technus yelled.

Shoot, dodge, shoot, dodge, shoot, dodge. Time to mix it up. Sam took aim and missed, barely leaving enough time to dodge. "Like taking candy from a baby, huh Technus?"

"Oh, putting up a fight! That makes things more interesting!"

Sam ducked behind a car fired a shot. Of course, Technus's next shot blasted the car in half, stunning Sam long enough for him to get a clear shot. She instinctively held her arms up to protect her head, feeling his shot ricochet off her wrist blaster. Cursing heavily, she threw it off and started running again.

He was firing too quickly for her to use the thermos. She needed to disorient him...what could she use? Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a fire hydrant...water...electricity...

She jumped right behind it. "Hey! You talk and you aim like an old man!"

"Silence, child!" the ghost yelled, taking another shot. Barely getting enough space between her and the shot, Sam saw the hydrant explode, sending the desired water into Technus.

"Wretched brat!" he sputtered, wiping his eyes. He fired another shot, failing to remember the combination of water and electricity until he was hollering in pain.

"Wrecked braggart," Sam deadpanned, opening up the thermos, sending Technus back to the Ghost Zone. Immediately, she ran back to Danny.

He was breathing, which was a relief...but he was shaking. His eyes were focused on something out of her sight, like he was dreaming.

* * *

_"DANNY!"_

_"DANNY!"_

"Danny! Danny, wake up!"

The light faded in his eyes, and he blinked. "W-w-what happened?"

Someone sighed in relief. "Don't scare me like that again, idiot!" he felt a sudden punch to the shoulder.

"Sorry, Sam," he mumbled. Something just occurred to him. "Wait, what where-"

"I took care of him," Sam said, patting the thermos. "And I think that's enough ghost hunting for tonight,"

"Agreed," Danny replied. "Why are you all wet?"

"Exploding fire hydrant. Long story," she answered. "Let's head back home,"

Brushing off the scooters, the two got on and drove off into the night. Traffic was already piling up, which meant that they had to hurry back. It looked like Vlad hadn't been planning anything in the city itself...but what did he say at the rally? Danny's phone was still bugging out, probably from Technus...he'd have to fix it later.

The two pulled into the garage, quickly closed the door and headed upstairs. If Mom and Dad came in, they could just make it look like they were working on homework the whole time.

"What happened back there?" Sam asked, looking at him with blatant worry.

"I would assume I got shot down," Danny quipped, expecting her to roll her eyes. Instead, her pupils remained focused on him.

"You know what I mean," she replied gently.

Danny looked at the ground. "I'm not...entirely sure, but if I had to guess...it might be another ghost power,"

Sam's eyes narrowed. "What kind of power?"

"Electricity," he mumbled. "Can we please not talk about it, I really-"

"What aren't you telling me, Danny?" Sam asked.

"It's personal," he replied.

"Do you really want to go there?"

"I didn't have a problem when you did," he pointed out. Sam didn't say anything for a moment. An idea popped into Danny's head...it was a risk, but worth a shot.

"If I tell you what else it is, do you promise that you'll tell me what's bothering you?"

Sam tightened her lips. "Danny-"

"I'm not gonna let you carry both your crap and mine while I just carry my own. It's not fair to either of us,"

Finally, she nodded. "Okay, I promise,"

He smiled weakly. "That ghost power...the sensation of it...I've felt something very similar to it before. Before I knew it...I was back in the lab, that day of the accident...in the Ghost Portal, having my body simultaneously torn apart and reconstructed."

Sam looked down. "I...I don't know what to say,"

"You don't have to say anything. My guess is like it's just with my ice powers...I need to learn to control it." Danny said. "Okay, your turn,"

Sam exhaled. "This is nothing new, but...things have been getting worse with me and my parents,"

"Define worse,"

"Every time I talk with my mom, we end up fighting. It's the same old horseshit: I should try and fit in, you and Tucker are bad influences, being goth is only a phase, I have no respect for authority...and she's trying to hook me up with suitors, aka men in their twenties. Last week, I overheard her and Dad talking about sending me to boarding school,"

"What?!"

"I know. If I disagree, I'm disrespectful, and every fight ends with her threatening to kick me out. She doesn't listen to anyone but herself. She's called me an embarrassment and/or disgraceful more than once. The most I can do is just avoid her whenever I can, which only pisses her off more. Dad's not as bad, but he still takes her side, every damn time. Part of me wants to just pack up and leave, but I don't want to leave Grandma behind."

Danny wanted to say how he felt about Sam's mother (not to mention how his mom felt about Pamela Manson), but he wasn't sure if that would help anything. Here wasn't the place to give advice or judgement.

"Sam, I can't...do anything to fix things between you and your mom, but just know that...I'll always be there if you need someone to talk to about something like this."

She looked at him. "Thanks, Danny. To be honest...being with you and the others...it's the only time I feel like I can be myself."

"I wouldn't be the way I am if it wasn't for you, Sam,"

She turned her head...was she blushing? "I'm sorry about the portal...I know how hard it made things for you,"

"Don't be. If I hadn't gone in there...I wouldn't be half of who I am know. It's never easy, but...I have a purpose, and a way to excel. I can't trade that for anything,"

She smiled...he could feel his heart beating out of his chest...

...their faces inched closer to each other, closing their eyes and...

"We're back!"

Danny snapped back to reality. Suddenly, his eyes locked with Sam, and they scrambled away like magnets.

"Hey guys," Danny called, cursing inside.

* * *

"We're back!"

"Hey guys," Danny called from upstairs.

"How were you two lo-OW!" Tucker started before Jazz stomped on his foot.

"How was the rally?" Sam asked.

"I got the tape with me, we'll be up in a sec," Tucker called back. There was a plethora of emotions lining everyone's face: Dad's face was filled with child-like excitement, Mom's was lined in a cautious curiosity, Tucker's was methodical and anxious, Jazz was sure her face reflected pure dread.

"Wanna come down and talk?" Mom asked.

"Uh, sorry Mom, we're in the middle of a...really tough math problem, and...I don't want to lose my train of thought," Danny called. Man, his excuses really needed work. He hadn't responded to Tucker's messages, so the two knew something was wrong. Climbing the stars as close to a normal pace as possible, Jazz opened the door fearing the worst.

Much to her surprise, Danny looked fine, albeit slightly paler than normal. Sam, on the other hand, looked oddly red.

"Why weren't you getting my calls?" Jazz asked. "We were worried sick,"

"Sorry, Technus," Danny said. "Phone's still acting weird. Anyway, did you still record it?"

"One sec," Tuck said, pulling out his PDA and a couple of extension cords. "Here we go."

_The applause began as Vlad took the stage._

"Froot Loop,"

"Shut up,"

_"Thank you all for coming tonight," Vlad said, a superficially warm smile on his face. "I'm glad to see you all in such good spirits, and I intend to raise them higher with what I plan for this city. The last year has been undoubtedly a time of great change for this city, for the better and for the worse. We have seen both a rise in business and innovation. We have also fallen victim to the dangerous plague of ghosts that threaten our security as a people."_

There was an unsettled murmur from the audience.

_"In the past twelve months, there have been more ghost sightings in Amity Park than the rest of the United States combined. Our police can do nothing to handle them. Our best scientific authorities are baffled at the existence of such beings. As your chosen leader, it is my duty to serve you all, to have the capability to handle any problem that may face us. Unfortunately, this is a challenge beyond almost anyone's capabilities. Which is why the national government has taken direct action to ensure the safety not only of our city, but of the country,"_

"Oh, please don't be what I think it is..." said Danny.

_"For the foreseeable future, Amity Park will be the hosts of the world's premiere ecto-authorities. Please welcome to the stage, Ignatius Weisz, head of the Guys in White,"_

"Of course it is," Danny groaned.

_There was lukewarm applause as a middle-aged white man took the stage. His black hair and sharp eyes contrasted violently with his white suit. "Thank you all for coming tonight," he boomed. His voice was tense, like it was ready to burst from the stream of emotions boiling inside._

_"Ghosts are the biggest threat humanity faces today. More dangerous than nuclear or anthrax, more sinister than the Holocaust. Do not be fooled by the so-called hero Danny Phantom: they are nothing but pathetic shadows, twisted shells of beings. They do nothing but deceive, destroy, and defile the achievements humanity has fought so hard for. That ghost is no hero: he is just a better liar._

_How long must our children remain entirely at the mercy of some disembodied spirit, cruel and unwavering demons that terrorize every facet of our way of life? And how much longer before they decide to move on from Amity Park, to the rest of the country and to the world? How much longer until the world is sent into a new dark age? How can we stand aside and let this happen? We are more than these wretched vermin, and we will purify this world by wiping them from existence!_

_Within the next year, the Guys in White hope to accelerate innovations in ghost research, reduce ghost attacks ten fold, and improve civilians capability to handle these despicable demons! We will fight these monsters, not only for Amity Park's sake, but for the sake of the world! For you, your children, and the children yet to come! You are all witnesses to the beginning of the Golden Age of humanity! To the ultimate evolution of humanity! To the restoration of our planet!"_

Tucker turned off the video. Danny's face was contorted into a disgusted scowl, and his eyes flashed green in rage: it was one of the only times Jazz had ever been scared of her brother. Sam looked equally enraged, although her expression could only metaphorically peel paint off a barn door.

"I'm getting real fucking sick of those fanatic dipshits," Sam hissed.

"Sam, language!" Jazz exclaimed.

"That mother fucking batshit crazy-ass son of a bitch..." Danny growled.

"Danny!"

"Guys!" Tucker shouted. "Look, it's bad."

"Gee Tuck, I never would have guessed,"

"Sam, please," Jazz said. "We ran out of film right after that, but it gets worse. In two weeks, they'll have access to the police force and to the schools, introduce mandatory ghost-defense classes, and any ghost hunting requires an official license from the Guys in White. You know what that means, right?"

"More school?" Danny guessed.

"That the moment any of us go out to hunt ghosts, we're at the mercy of the Guys in White," said Tucker.

Sam clenched her fists harder. Danny exhaled in frustration. "Man oh man-"

"That's the genius of it," Jazz spoke up. "Having the Guys in White in Amity Park means that people won't be watching Vlad as close. Think about it: _he_ wasn't the one who decided to bring the Guys in White to Amity Park. He was just the mayor who did his duty as a city official and heeded to the higher government. Anything goes wrong, it's not on Vlad, it's on the Guys in White,"

Danny sighed. "Of course,"

"It might also mean he has something else planned." Tucker pointed out. "He might be trying to make us focus on the Guys in White rather than him. Maybe he's after something,"

"You never know with the Froot Loop," said Danny. "But if it somehow involves stealing Mom and getting rid of Dad, it must be pretty elaborate,"

The conversation was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

"We'll talk about this later," Danny whispered. "It's open,"

Mom walked through the door. "How's the homework going, Danny?"

"Pretty good," Danny lied. "Tucker was just showing us the rally,"

"Oh, that's nice," Mom said. "I hate to break things up, sweetie, but I think it's time to bring Sam and Tucker home for tonight,"

"Just five more minutes?" Danny pleaded.

"Sorry, but if you've got math homework to finish, then you probably don't need any distractions,"

Danny didn't look happy, but Mom's logic was hair. "Alright. See you tomorrow, guys,"

"Later, Danny," said Tucker.

"See you," said Sam. Jazz noticed a look of dread on Sam's face as she exited the room. She started getting up to follow.

Jazz probably had the same expression.

"Danny...we need to talk,"

"I'm listening," he said.

She hated herself for what she was about to say and do.

"Look...I...uh...promise me you won't get upset about this,"

"I promise," he said cautiously.

"I...I...I don't think I can help you anymore,"

Danny blinked. "What?"

"I can't help you ghost hunt," she blurted out. "It's like Tucker said: the moment we go out to fight ghosts, we're criminals. If I get caught...everything I've worked for goes down the drain. My relationship with Mom and Dad, my grades, my dream of becoming a professor of Yale...everything. I know it's selfish and totally wrong, but I can't give that up, I just can't. I'm sorry, I just-"

"What are you apologizing for?" he asked.

Jazz looked at her brother. "Weren't you paying attention?"

"Of course I was. Jazz, it's fine, I get it. You've got a great future ahead no matter what you decide to do, and I would never forgive myself if I got in the way of that. To be honest, I'm not sure if I want Tucker and Sam out there with me. We're risking a lot more going out and doing what we do, especially since we're in school. But we can't just give up. We're protecting not just humans, but the good ghosts. You have a lot on your plate right now, don't try to bite off more than you can chew. We'll take care of each other. Okay?"

She looked at her fifteen year-old brother and saw a grown man. Someone who'd risk himself every night for others, and take on a burden most people couldn't handle. She wanted to help, but now all she could do was stand back and pray he would be alright.

Jazz nodded, blinking back tears. "Thanks, Danny,"

"No problem. We'll get through this, I promise,"

* * *

"Hello?"

_"It's me, Foley,"_

Tucker raised his eyebrows. "Star? Hey...what's going down?"

He cursed himself as he heard her groan on the other end. _"Hopefully not my GPA. As much as it pains me to say this, we're gonna have to meet up again to work on this project. Are you free tomorrow night?"_

Tomorrow? "Uh...what time?"

_"After school, say...4 or 5?"_

That wouldn't interfere with his nightly endeavors. "Works for me. Nasty Burger?"

_"Library,"_ she said, almost ordering. _"Night, Tucker,"_

"Wait. Did you just say my name?"

She hung up. Tucker sighed. Oh well. He had more important things to think about.

Closing the drapes, he walked over to the box on his dresser. With a shaking hand, he picked up the drive.

This might be the stupidest thing he had ever done. It was crazy, reckless, totally nuts...but it was the only choice.

"Honey, meatloaf's ready!"

"Be down in a sec, mom!" Tucker called back. Grabbing the case under his bed, he grabbed his spare laptop and plugged in the drive.

* * *

(10:12 pm)

* * *

"Fantastic speech tonight, Vlad,"

_"Thank you, Valerie,"_ Vlad replied, but his voice seemed...strained.

"Are you alright? You sound...tense,"

_"I would be lying to you if I were to say I'm not concerned about this. You remember them in Amity in the first month or so after I was elected, no?"_

Valerie thought for a moment. "Yeah, I do. I remember Danny Fenton got hurt,"

_"That is one of my greatest regrets. After that incident, I looked more into the group, and the little that I found was disconcerting, to say the least. They are extreme, fanatic even. Their hatred of ghosts exceeds their love of humanity. They have no mercy, no remorse, no concern for the people they serve. I cannot put my full trust in them, and I suspect that they were the individuals that you encountered last week while investigating the warehouse."_

"Then why are they here in Amity Park?"

There was a long sigh on the other end. _"Amity Park has the highest numbers of ghost sightings and attacks of any location in the country. This stands both as a prime research location and an extermination grounds. I am trying to have faith that their presence will alleviate the ghost infestation that plagues our city, but I am not without my concerns. Do not make them your enemy, Valerie, but be wary."_

"I understand. Have a good night, sir," The transmission ended, leaving Valerie with time to think. He was right about what happened to Danny. The rest of it...well, she knew better now than to trust Vlad.

She put herself in Vlad's shoes. If she was part-ghost, and an ghost-hunting division of the government came to her city, that would be a huge problem. All of her evil schemes would be jeopardized, every faction of her life at risk. A group with that much power and position had access not only to the best anti-ecto technology available, but millions of dollars in funding and research. They would know more about ghosts than any other human. And they could finally provide Valerie with the answers she wanted.

Of course, her other option were to...continue to work with Vlad, and risk getting in the way of a ghost-hunting army, or continue to wait out for Phantom to give her answers, which Valerie felt stupid for actually thinking he would ever give her. For the first time in two weeks, everything felt finally, truly clear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has my little homage to Butch Hartman's 10 years later concept drawings. As he said, Danny's probably going to have been upgrading his armor and trying out new things. This is Tucker's way of helping Danny: he's not as adept at fighting ghosts like Danny and Sam are, at least not in the same way. As for Jazz...sigh...she's a great character, and I like her a lot. That being said, she isn't a full member of Team Phantom like Tucker and Sam. She has another life aside from that.
> 
> The Guys in White are a popular choice for Danny Phantom fanfic villains, and there is a good reason why. That being said, it puts pressure to make sure that this story stands out in my interpretation of them. Valerie...oh I have special plans for Valerie.
> 
> Please give your honest feedback in the comments, it helps me know what to tweak.


	4. Chapter 3: Choice

Chapter 3: Choice

* * *

  _ **September 11, 2008:**_ (8:17 pm)

* * *

 The fighting was becoming too familiar to Jeremy, and it had been only getting worse.

It seemed that just yesterday, the dining room rang beautifully with the joyous prattling of his seven-year old girl, everyone in the room feeding off of each other's energy. Now the peaceful air was polluted by nightly screaming matches. A veil of darkness seemed to eclipse Samantha, replacing the vibrant little girl with a moody and sullen teenager. The room echoed not with happy conversation, but angry shouting.

"Family time is not open for discussion!"

"So what? I have to be miserable just so that you and Dad can look good for the country club?"

"It's past time that you stopped this immature behavior and make yourself presentable! I knew you were spending too much time with that Fenton boy, but-"

"Leave Danny out of this! I'm not changing myself for anyone, especially not for you!"

"Samantha Emma Manson, don't you dare raise your voice at me!"

Jeremy left the room at this point, knowing the only thing that would be gained was more gray hair.

"That woman has worse hearing than I do," his mother said bluntly as soon as the door was closed.

"Mother, please…"

"What's that, Jeremy? I can't hear you," she replied with a smirk, tapping her hearing aids.

"You are going to the country club with us on Saturday and that's final!"

_It's just a phase_ , Jeremy told himself again as Sam's furious response only got louder. In a few more years, she'll be grateful that you were so hard on her. At this point, all he could do was hope. Have faith that he was being a good father, believe that his little angel would come back, hope…pray that his worst fears would never be realized, that Sammy would have a better fate than Katherine.

Pray that history would not repeat itself.

* * *

  _ **September 12, 2008:**_

* * *

 Valerie felt like throwing her laptop out the window.

She had spent all night searching for anything on the Guys in White, and had found hardly anything of use. The first three pages were just news articles about last night, followed by seven pages of conspiracy theories: she would have looked further on one website until she saw something about a sex ring in a pizza parlor. It shouldn't have been this hard to get decent information.

Her frustrated thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Was Dad home already? She looked at the clock. 1:56 am. She had been searching for over three hours, which meant she had completely neglected her homework. Trying not to groan, she closed her computer and got into bed, hoping she'd at least get some sleep so that she could finish something tomorrow morning.

* * *

 (10:04 am)

* * *

 "Dude, you gotta let it go,"

"Hell no!" said Dash. "Who does that...whatever his name was-"

"Ignatius Weisz?" Kwan offered.

"Who does this Wise guy think he is?" Dash continued to rant. "We knew the Guys in White were nut jobs, but now they're getting permission from the government? "

_Three, two, one..._

"Danny Phantom's a hero!"

_There it is._ Star smirked as her boyfriend reluctantly handed her a dollar. Paulina had now joined Dash in the effort to bitch endlessly about the rally last night. The only thing that could make this worse is if Foley decided to come.

"He saved our-" at this point, Star decided to tune out the rant as much as possible (it wasn't easy) and started talking with her boyfriend. "Could they just shut up about it for five minutes?"

"I wish," Kwan said, looking about as annoyed as Star felt. "I mean, yeah, I'm annoyed with this thing too, but they don't need to keep going on about it,"

"No kidding," Star grumbled. "She was texting me non-stop last night about it, I don't think she even went to bed,"

"Well hey, a few more hours and we'll have the night to ourselves." Kwan said, a grin forming on his face. "It's time I finally show you _Back to the Future_ ,"

"If it's good, maybe I'll be showing _you_ something," Star said seductively, smiling further as a blush appeared on Kwan's cheeks. For someone who looked like the typical brainless meathead, Kwan was remarkably innocent and pure. Her big cuddly panda-

BAM!

Star's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Dash slamming his fist against a locker. "How did the mayor think this was a good idea?"

"Uh...maybe the Fenton's had something to do with it." Star suggested, glancing at Kwan in desperation. He quickly put two and two together: if Dash had something else he could be angry at, maybe he'd shut up.

"Yeah, I mean...they're pretty close to Mayor Masters, right?" Kwan said, trying to play along. Dash's face turned red in an instant.

"Those ghost-hunting weirdos..." he hissed. "I shoulda known..."

"What do you expect? Losers try and tear down anyone who's good to bring themselves up," Paulina scoffed. "Pathetic,"

Star tried not to cringe at that remark.

"Well, speak of the devil!" Dash said. Looking in the direction Dash had turned, Star saw Fenton...well, both Fentons, and the other two members of his little trio.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think we could all use a break tonight. How does a _Doomed_ speedrun sound?" Foley suggested.

"Yeah, doomed. Just like you are, Fen-turd!"

_Uh-oh._

In classic football fashion, Dash tackled Fenton to the ground. Everyone's attention turned to the scene unfolding: Dash's ability to find any reason to beat on the unpopular (particularly Fenton) was almost a legend among the students. Star quickly put on her haughty mask, adding a small grin of smug satisfaction to finish the role.

"What is now, Dash?" Fenton mumbled into the floor. "Did Paulina cheat on you again?"

_Yes,_ Star thought. _But Dash doesn't need to know that._

"I don't need an excuse to teach you some manners, Freak-ton," Dash sneered. "You didn't think I forgot about my favorite punching bag, did you?"

"One can't help but hope,"

"Well, then I _hope_ you won't have a problem with me taking your lunch money, since you won't have any teeth to chew anything once I'm done," Dash said, turning Fenton around so that he could look him in the eye.

"Let him go, Dash," Jazz Fenton warned.

"Aw, aren't you lucky that your big sister's looking out for her baby brother?" Dash mocked. "Too bad I've got the ultimate Get Out Of-what the?"

Star looked back at Fenton only to see that he somehow managed to slip out of Dash's grip, and was now trying to escape. Like a lion chasing an antelope, Dash broke into a full sprint. The antelope quickly turned the corner, followed closely by the lion. There was an "oof!", a _thud_ , and-

" _A Song of Ice and Fire_ , Baxter!"

The A-Squad followed the rest of the crowd to witness the scene. Dash was laying on the ground, fist raised, over- _Mr. Lancer_?

"What on earth do you think you're doing, Mr. Baxter?!" the pudgy teacher yelled.

Dash looked understandably mortified. "U-u-uh-"

"Your exemption from school punishment does not cover the consequences of assaulting faculty!" Mr. Lancer growled.

"B-b-but it was an accident!" Dash stammered. "I wasn't trying to attack you, I was trying to attack Fen...ton..."

Kwan facepalmed. "Oh boy..."

"We can discuss this in my office." Mr. Lancer muttered with barely restrained anger. "Get up and follow me,"

The crowd watched in a combination of shock, horror, and amusement as Dash followed the teacher, his tail tucked between his legs. Fenton, who had been standing about five feet away the entire time, had his hand clamped firmly over his mouth, clearly trying not to laugh.

* * *

 "What were you thinking?!"

"Jazz, it's fine! Nobody saw me!" Danny defended.

"You don't know that!" she whispered. "What if someone saw it and put two and two together? Especially a _certain someone_?"

"If you're talking about Valerie, she definitely didn't see him do it," said Sam. "I saw her coming from the other end of the hallway, so unless she can teleport now, there's no way she could have gotten there that fast,"

"That's not the point!" Jazz protested. "Did you honestly think it was a good idea to use your ghost powers in front of…what, thirty people?"

"Well, considering the alternative…yeah," Danny admitted. "I don't know if ghost healing includes missing teeth, but I'm not really interested in finding out,"

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna cherish this memory for years to come," Tucker said. "Man, the look on his face when he realized how bad he messed up-"

Danny found himself grinning as well, even though Dash's inevitable revenge loomed over his head as usual. Jazz rubbed her eyes in frustration.

"Danny, you can't make a habit out of this," she argued. "Especially not with _you-know-what_ ,"

"Give it a rest, Jazz," he grumbled. "I have two weeks, plenty of time to figure something out,"

"Don't leave it until the last day," Jazz warned. "See you after patrol,"

She walked off to her locker, and Danny braced himself as Sam and Tucker turned to him in confusion.

"She's not coming tonight?" Sam asked.

"No,"

"Why not? She have a date or something?" said Tucker, prompting Sam to roll her eyes.

"Get your head out of the gutter, Tuck,"

"What? I asked if she was going on a date, not having s-"

"TUCKER!" Danny interrupted. "Don't finish that sentence, I do NOT need that picture in my head,"

"Sorry,"

"Anyways..." Danny continued, "Jazz...isn't going ghost hunting with us anymore,"

Sam glanced at Tucker, who seemed surprised as she was.

"How do I say this... she feels that with the Guys in White, there's too much at stake for her to risk it by vigilante ghost hunting."

Tucker's eyes narrowed. "Seriously?"

Sam clenched her fists in disbelief. "What do you mean, too much at stake?"

"Guys, she's got a lot on her plate. Grades, getting into college, student body. She's got a lot to lose, and-"

"And we don't?" Sam asked incredulously.

"You know that's not true." Danny warned. "You said it yourself, Tucker. We're at their mercy the moment we go out. If hunting ghosts without a license is illegal, what do you think they'll do to someone helping a ghost? What do you think would happen if one of you got caught?"

"It couldn't be any worse than what they would do to you!" Sam argued. "Better to help a ghost than be half-ghost!"

"Well, technically they could find out whether he went out as Phantom or not," Tucker said. "Like if they did-OW!"

Judging by that sound, Sam had kicked Tucker underneath the table. As to why she did it, Danny had no idea.

"Danny, you've got ten times more to lose than her, why are you defending her?!"

"Because it's her choice!" Danny snapped. "She's at a point in her life where she needs to put herself first! I'm not going to be the one that rips her future away from her!"

"So what about our futures, Danny?" Sam asked angrily. "What if we just decided to walk away from this?"

Danny clenched his fists. Was Sam actually considering leaving this? After seven years of being best friends? After every time she pushed him on the right track, chided him for not using his powers right? After getting him half-killed twice? If that was the case, then he had an answer for that.

"If that's you want to do, then by all means, go ahead," he almost growled. "Nobody's stopping you,"

He got up from his chair. "See you tonight,"

* * *

 (4:02 pm)

* * *

"You're late,"

Tucker rolled his eyes. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, you know,"

"Sorry, the beekeeper's on vacation," Star deadpanned. "Let's get this over with, I have plans tonight,"

Knowing that arguing further would be pointless, Tucker took his seat. "Okay, so..."

"The rally last night," Star interrupted. "The usual _'What are your impressions, how will this affect us, do you think this is a good idea or not, et cetera, et cetera,'_ Shoot me now,"

"This shouldn't be an assignment," Tucker grumbled. "That's practically the only thing anyone's been talking about,"

"You have no idea," Star replied. "Dash and Paulina won't stop talking about Phantom and how the Guys in White don't know what they're talking about,"

"I have some idea," Tucker replied. He remembered at the end of last year when Dash and Paulina were the first to help Danny escape. Of course, he wasn't supposed to have any memories of that, so he settled for the next best explanation. "Has Paulina installed a shrine to Phantom in her new locker yet?"

Star gave him a disgusted look. "You pervert,"

"What? It's not like she tried to keep it remotely secret," Tucker defended.

"Fair enough," Star admitted. "Anyways, back to work,"

"Well, what do you think? What's your opinion on what's coming?" Tucker asked, hitting the record button on his PDA.

Star shrugged. "Honestly? It's about time we took serious action against the ghosts. Sure, Phantom's done a lot of good, but we should be able to protect ourselves. Besides, a lot of things are gonna go bad if we don't start tackling this ghost issue: population's gonna drop, the economy's gonna slip...not like to the level of Detroit, but then again, that's not saying much. This could make a lot of things better. What about you?"

"Personally, I get why they're doing it, but I don't think the Guys in White are the ones to do it,"

Star's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Tucker thought hard about what to say. He knew a lot about this...more than he was supposed to know, which meant he had to choose his words wisely. Star already seemed suspicious.

"Remember that guy...Weisz was his name, right?"

"Yeah,"

"He seemed...I don't know, fanatic? Going on about wiping out all ghosts and the 'golden age of humanity' crap? Give him an orange jumpsuit and he'd be Jack Fenton,"

"He'd need a glorified fishing rod and another hundred pounds of body mass," Star deadpanned.

"True. Look, my point is that...what if there are other good ghosts like Phantom? What if we're just judging all of them because we've seen what the worst of them are?"

"This sounds like a debate on immigration," Star interrupted.

Tucker thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. Let's add that in, teachers love that philosophical BS,"

"Good choice," Star agreed.

"Hey...if you don't mind me asking-"

"No, I'm not going to the homecoming dance with you,"

Tucker groaned. "That wasn't what I was going to ask,"

"I know," Star replied with a smirk. Tucker shook his head.

"Anyway, I know how Paulina feels about Phantom, but...what about you?"

Star thought for a moment. "Undecided."

"Really?"

She shrugged. "I mean, he's done a lot of good, but...there are some things that are harder to explain,"

"Like what happened with Valerie?"

Star froze, her gorgeous blue eyes widening. "You know about that?"

"Most of it," Tucker said. "I don't know all the details, but from I heard, Phantom was involved in an incident at Axiom Labs, and Valerie's dad got fired because of it. And of course..."

"Things went to shit after that," Star finished. "One of these days, Valerie's probably gonna try hunting Phantom down herself,"

_Star doesn't know?_

Tucker wisely kept his mouth shut. Star continued. "And then of course, there was that incident with the last mayor. Like I said, he's done a lot of good things for Amity, but...not everything adds up."

"Fair enough," Tucker said, trying to shift away from the topic. "Okay, what else do we have to do?"

* * *

 (6:07 pm)

* * *

"You told them?!"

Jazz got all the answer she needed from Danny's look of frustration. "It wasn't your place to say that, idiot!"

"Sam already chewed me out, I don't need you doing it too," her little brother grumbled. "But yeah, if she looks at you like you're a floral pattern dress, that's why,"

Jazz wanted to curse, but she settled for almost breaking the steering wheel with her bare hands. Danny said nothing more on the ride to Nasty Burger.

She had been dreading telling Tucker and Sam about her choice, and the fact that they already knew made her even more uneasy. But she suspected that there was more to it than this.

"Hey guys!" a familiar voice called, an arm waving at them towards a booth. Danny took a seat next to Tucker, which left Jazz to sit next to Sam, who gave her a withering look.

"What are you doing here?" the goth growled.

Jazz sighed. "I wanted the chance to talk, even if Danny got to it before I did,"

Tucker shrugged. "I gotta finish my burger, I figure I've got enough time to listen,"

"Well, unlike the carnivore, some of us have-"

"Let her talk, Sam," Danny said, glaring at his friend.

"Don't tell me what to do, Fenton," Sam hissed.

His eyes narrowed. "You're right, I shouldn't. Because you never-"

Danny stopped mid-sentence. Jazz almost didn't notice it: a wisp of blue wist escaping his mouth. His eyes darted around, settling on a window. Looking outside, Jazz noticed someone outside on a motorbike...someone familiar.

"Johnny 13," she hissed.

"I'll take care of this," Danny said, getting out of his spot. "Be back in a few,"

Sam started to get up. "Get up, Jazz,"

"You're staying with me," Jazz said. "We need to talk,"

"Why? What are you gonna tell me? Some sort of sob story that'll make me feel better about you ditching the team?"

Jazz tried to remain calm: losing her temper would help nothing. "Why are you so upset about this, Sam? A few weeks ago, you didn't even think I was part of the team,"

"Well, apparently I was right," Sam retorted. "Considering you feel that school and your own future is more important than your little brother,"

Things started piecing together in Jazz's mind. "Come with me for a minute,"

"Why?"

"Because this isn't about me leaving," Jazz said evenly. "Or at least, not just that,"

* * *

"How's it been, punk?"

Danny noticed the smirk didn't reach Johnny's eyes, which, aside from making him look like a pedophile, indicated that he and Kitty had been fighting.

"Same old, same old," Danny replied, not letting his guard down. He glanced the ground by Johnny, noticing that there was no shadow. That could only mean...

Danny cautiously charged up an ectoblast in his hand, whirling around at the sudden screeching noise to see...

_Yep._

Shadow was standing behind him, recoiling at the light generated by the waiting ectoblast. Danny grinned in satisfaction.

"Oh, there's the dork of darkness. Nice try Joh-"

Danny had lowered his guard for one second, which was long enough for Johnny to fire a shot from his motorcycle. Danny took the blast straight to the chest, throwing him right into a waiting Shadow. Johnny's pet wrapped around him like a blanket and flung him at the Nasty Burger sign. Luckily, Danny turned intangible at the last second, saving his face from becoming a pancake.

His main priority was getting Johnny away from the Nasty Burger: a bad luck spirit and potentially explosive condiments were not a combination Danny wanted to try. "Hey Johnny! Catch me if you can!" he called, flying in the direction of the industrial district. The revving of the engine was indication that Johnny took the bait.

"I live for this rush!" Johnny yelled, firing more blasts at the halfa. Danny turned around, noticing Johnny was a good distance away.

"You really need to cool it!" Danny called, sending an ice blast towards Johnny. The biker ghost swerved to the right, allowing the shot to hit its intended target: the road. Ice quickly spread on the ground, causing the bike to swerve uncontrollably before crashing against the curb, sending Johnny though a window.

"Fine, I'll give you that one!" Johnny shouted. "Shadow! Maim!"

This time, Danny was ready. As Shadow began to wrap around, Danny let his energy lower, right to the point of transforming into human. As expected, the living shadow screeched in pain at the sudden ring of light, searing its form. Shadow growled before flying into a light post. As the bad luck kicked in, the light bulb exploded dramatically as the base suddenly collapsed, sending it falling towards Danny.

Danny grabbed it in both hands, but it was heavier than he anticipated. Not easy, but doable. Lifting it up with a grunt, Danny started to bend the post back into place. Suddenly, he heard a snicker, almost...bestial in noise.

_ZAP!_

Danny flew out of the way as a blast shot towards him. Johnny had regained his footing and had fired another shot from his bike. However, true to his bad luck, Johnny's shot hit the now falling lamppost, blasting Shadow out. The demonic being let out a sound that would probably be extremely inappropriate in English. Johnny grumbled before whistling, and Shadow returned to its master. Now with all his strength in one body, Johnny charged at Danny, sending the two a block away and landing on the pavement.

"Game over, you little shit," Johnny growled.

"That's my line," Danny said with a smirk. The biker ghost looked down, just now noticing the thermos pointed at his chest.

* * *

Johnny smirked, getting off of the halfa.

"You've gotten better, kid,"

"Well, having some anger to let out helps," said Phantom, leaning against the wall of a building. "And considering you and your pet went after me, I'm guessing you had some steam to blow off too,"

Shadow growled at the halfa, only to be quieted by its master. Johnny shrugged. "Meh, you know it is with me and Kitty."

"She got mad at you for flirting on another girl?"

"Well, that's one way of putting it,"

"That's the only way of putting it," said the nerd, having just arrived with the gloomy chick.

"You never learn you, do you?" the halfa asked.

"How unlike anyone I know," the girl quipped.

"Okay, you know what-"

"Guys!" the nerd interrupted.

Johnny chuckled. "Sounds like I'm not the only one having a lover's quarrel,"

Danny and Sam looked at him, then at each other, then back at him before sputtering.

"We're not-"

"He's not my-"

"We just-"

"Yes, they're having a fight," the nerd answered for them. Johnny looked back at the two to smirk, but mid-way he noticed...well, he didn't know what it was, but looking at the chick...he thought he saw something familiar. He settled for just shrugging it off. "Well, good luck, little man,"

The ghost boy seemed to regain his ability to speak. "Word of advice, Johnny: stay out of Amity for a while,"

"I'll go wherever the hell I want and do whatever the hell I want to do, punk," Johnny warned. "Don't tell me what to do," He could feel Shadow picking up on his irritation, hoping for the chance to be unleashed.

"You heard about the Guys in White?" the gloomy girl asked.

Johnny's smile faded. "What about 'em?"

"They're coming here in two weeks, and they're coming to stay. I don't have to remind you of that time they tried to blow up the Ghost Zone?" Danny warned.

"Course. Next time you steal my bike will be your last," Johnny threatened. "But I get the shtick. Gonna admit, didn't know you cared so much about me,"

"Don't kid yourself," Danny replied flatly. "Now, are you gonna leave on your own, or do I have to use the thermos?"

"Relax, I'm goin'," Johnny said, revving his motorcycle. "See you on the flipside,"

* * *

 (7:48 pm)

* * *

"Why'd you let him go?" Tucker asked.

"Considering that he's one of the only ghosts with enough brain cells to leave on his own, I figured I'd let him choose," Danny said. Other than a couple of octopuses, the ecto-activity for the rest of the night had been almost null, which was fine with him. "It's not the first time he's done this,"

"Well, let's hope it's his last," Tucker said.

"I doubt it," he said, opening the door to his room. "Come on, we've got something else to worry about,"

"I agree," said Sam.

* * *

 (1 hour and 38 minutes earlier...)

* * *

_"Come with me for a minute,"_

_"Why?"_

_"Because this isn't about me leaving," Jazz said evenly. "Or at least, not just that,"_

_Sam tensed briefly. "Really? What else would it be about?"_

_"Get in the car," Jazz replied._

_"Aren't you never supposed to get in a white car without knowing where it's going?" Sam quipped._

_Jazz rolled her eyes. "Just come with me,"_

_The two walked to the minivan, a tense silence between them. Neither saying a word until the doors were closed tight._

_"What the fuck, Jazz?!" Sam growled._

_"Stop!"_

_"He's your brother, Jazz!" Sam yelled. "And you're just walking away?!"_

_"Oh, don't give me that!" Jazz snapped. "How many times have you told me I'm not part of the team, or that you guys are fine without me? What's so different now? Tell me, because I think we both know the answer!"_

_Sam didn't answer. Jazz looked at her. "Sam...you're afraid, aren't you?"_

_No response._

_"Aren't you?"_

_"Yes," she admitted. "Scared of what's going to happen. The most Guys in White we've dealt with at a time is two, what's it going to be like when the entire freaking group comes here? He's going up against an army, Jazz. And pretty soon Tuck and I won't be able to help him, and...and-"_

_Sam took a minute to compose herself: she was not ready or willing to start crying in front of Jazz. "...and he'll be in a lab somewhere hidden, being dissected like a seventh grade science project. All because I thought it would be a good idea to check out that stupid portal,"_

_Jazz blinked. "You mean the accident that gave Danny his powers?"_

_"I was the one who told him to take a look," Sam admitted. "That means that if something happens to Danny, it's my fault."_

_Suddenly, she found herself wiping her eyes. "Sorry," she grumbled. "Something got in my eye..."_

_Jazz nodded. "Danny's scared too, you know. When I told him last night, he mentioned that he's not sure he wants you and Tucker continuing ghost hunting either."_

_Sam blinked. "He said that?"_

_"Yep, and knowing my brother, it's for the same reason you got so upset at me. In two weeks, you'll be risking your life along with him. Would Danny forgive himself if something happened to either of you two?"_

_"I think we both know the answer to that," Sam whispered, as the image of the evil future Danny flashed into her head._

_"That's why he was okay with me backing out," Jazz concluded. "I know it's selfish, but at the same time, it's lifting a little weight off his shoulders. Part of being my brother's keeper is understanding when I should give him help...and knowing whose help he needs the most,"_

_Sam didn't respond to that._

_"You know who I'm talking about, Sam. So...I understand if you're not ready to accept my apology, but please, try and patch this up with you and Danny. He's going to need you more than ever pretty quick,"_

Just like I need him.

Don't make it cheesy, _Sam told herself as she turned back to Jazz. "Apology accepted. Now if you'll excuse, I've got to get back to babysitting your little brother,"_

* * *

Danny looked at Sam. "How'd the talk with Jazz go?"

"Fine," she muttered. "Danny, I hope you know that...what I said during lunch...I just said it because I was frustrated, not because I was actually thinking about, you know,"

Danny looked at the ground. Aside from lifting a massive weight off his chest, it was one of the closest things to an apology he'd ever heard from Sam. "I should have realized that earlier. I'm...sorry for getting pissed off."

"So...are you two gonna kiss and make up?"

"Shut up, Tucker!" Danny and Sam said in unison. Tucker's smirk only widened.

"Anyways..." Sam said. "Danny...whatever comes our way, I hope you know that Tucker and I will always have your back. No matter what happens,"

"Yeah. We can't let you have all the fun, right?" Tucker added, his smirk now taking over the bottom half of his face. " _We're All In_ _This Togeth_ -OW!"

"What did I tell you about singing?" Sam warned, as Tucker rubbed his shin (and Danny sighed in relief).

"Guys," Danny said, getting their attention back."Thank you both. We're gonna have to start planning for the Guys in White tomorrow, but for tonight-"

" _Doomed_ speed run?" Tucker asked hopefully.

"You know it,"

Looking back on it later on, Danny would see that night as the calm before the storm. That night, playing games with his two best friends and relaxing in a night of a peace, he could never have guessed what was coming for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a while to come to me. I'm not 100% satisfied with how it came out, but I figured it would serve for what it was meant to be.
> 
> The Dash...incident was the hardest part of this chapter to write. It was surprisingly hard to get the flow of that scene to where I wanted it, and considering how much everything else built off of it, it was a major road-block.
> 
> This chapter was mainly just a filler chapter, made to help flesh out the characters a little more, and introduce my twist on what ghosts are. Butch Hartman said in an interview that ghosts aren't disembodied spirits, but beings from another dimension. I'm still deciding how to incorporate that into this work, but hopefully you'll like it once it comes out.
> 
> As always, please please please remember to leave a comment. It really helps me know and grow as a writer.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a repost of my story from FanFiction. 
> 
> The story, to the best of my ability, remains true to canon up until D-Stablized. As you can probably tell, this story will be darker and more mature than the show. In this universe, Danny Phantom takes place during Danny's freshman year of high school, and each work in this story is planned to take place over the span of a year.


End file.
